School zones in effect

With August coming to an end, the Prince George RCMP’s Traffic Services Section will be refocusing its efforts towards back to school speed enforcement. Police would like to remind the public to be vigilant and obey all traffic laws.

Beginning September 5, schools in and around Prince George are welcoming children back for another school year. The Prince George RCMP’s Traffic Services Section will be conducting patrols and targeted enforcement around schools. Each and every school zone will be patrolled and speeding tickets will be issued for anyone not obeying the posted speed limit.

Ensuring the safety of our children and other vulnerable road users is the responsibility of the community including the police, said Sgt. Matt LaBelle, in charge of the Prince George RCMP’s Municipal Traffic Services Section. If members of the community do not obey speed limits and put our children at risk, then we will issue violation tickets.

On a day when school is in session, school zone speed limits are 30km/h, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless otherwise posted. Playground zone speed limits are 30km/h, from dawn until dusk, every day without exception.

School Zone and Playground Zone speed limits are set at 30km/h, for a number of reasons including:

BRAKING DISTANCE. Faster cars need more distance to stop in an emergency, like if a child jumped out onto the road. When traveling at 60 kilometres per hour, it takes the average car 55 metres to stop. At 30 kilometres per hour, it takes the average vehicle just 18 metres to come to a stop. A significant difference that could save a life;

SURVIVAL RATE. The survival rate for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle increases exponentially. If a vehicle traveling at 50 kilometres per hour struck a pedestrian, there is only a 20 per cent chance that the pedestrian would survive. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 kilometres per hour has a 90 per cent chance of survival;

MORE PEDESTRIANS. Typically there are more pedestrians in and around school zones increasing the chances of collisions. A slower speed helps reduce the chances of an incident;

AGE OF PEDESTRIANS. Younger and less experienced pedestrians are more likely to be in a school zone and more likely to be distracted or forget about safety.

If you see a traffic violation and want to make a report, please call our non-emergency line at 250-561-3300. In order to issue a violation ticket under BC’s Motor Vehicle Act, police require a formal statement and your willingness to attend court. Make note of the time, date and location of the offence, the license plate of the offending vehicle, direction of travel and a general description of the incident. If police are provided with a statement and your willingness to attend court, investigators can follow-up with the registered owner of the vehicle and issue them a violation ticket. Police cannot do this without your witness account.